Australia approves 828 MWh of battery energy storage from Lightsource bp and X-Elio

Canberra has rubber-stamped plans for two big solar-plus-storage projects, in Queensland and NSW.

The Australian division of UK-based renewables developer Lightsource bp has been granted federal approval for its 450 MW Goulburn River Solar Farm and 296 MWp/588 MWh containerized battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Upper Hunter region of NSW, 28 km southwest of Merriwa.

pv magazine Australia reported that decision two days after Spanish-owned X-Elio received approval to proceed with construction of its Queensland-based 350 MW Sixteen Mile Solar Farm and 120 MW/240 MWh BESS. The Queensland site will be 280 km northwest of Brisbane and 22 km south of Chinchilla, next to the Western Downs Green Power Hub.

The latter, 586-hectare project will include a 7.4 km power line on monopole high voltage towers and grid connection construction works to an existing bay at Queensland transmission provider Powerlink’s Western Downs Substation, east of the site. Build is expected to take 18 months to 24 months and the project is set to last 35 years.

It is expected the Queensland site will generate enough energy to power 160,000 homes. The nearby Western Downs Green Power Hub comprises a 460 MWp solar farm and 540 MW/1,080 MWh big battery built by French developer Neoen.

BP’s Goulburn River plan includes a 500 kV switchyard and substation to connect the project to a 500 kV transmission line intersecting the property.

Approximately one million bifacial solar modules, in an east-west single-axis tracking arrangement, will be installed across 1,249 hectares of the 2,000-hectare site, along with accommodation for a construction workforce.

Goulburn River is considered an NSW state-significant project and will generate enough energy to power the equivalent of 191,000 homes.

The estimated AUD 880 million ($594 million) solar farm will allow for around 1,000 sheep to continue to graze at the site, as continuation of an existing agribusiness activity and as a fire-mitigation practice of limiting biomass.

The project is located between the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) and the Hunter-Central Coast REZ.

The Goulburn River Solar Farm is expected to begin construction in Q3, 2024 and will take approximately 18 months to 24 months to complete and have an operational life of between 35 years and 40 years, after which Lightsource bp will choose to upgrade and continue the project or decommission and recycle the infrastructure.

From pv magazine Australia: Lightsource bp and X-Elio projects.